With the leaves really beginning to turn on the trees, it finally feels like autumn. But given that Chicago autumn quickly transforms into a long early winter, and folksy wisdom predicts this year’s winter to be quite the doozy, why not get out next weekend, while it’s still possible to survive in a hoodie?

Several South Side (and city) organizations have taken a cue from the leaves and scheduled a number of neighborhood tours:

• The University of Chicago’s Chicago Studies department hosts a South Side History Bike Tour, led by the university trio of Dean John Boyer, Dean Mark Hansen, and Professor Terry Clark. The tour will meet on the Quad between the Regenstein Library and Bartlett at 10am on Saturday and will pedal north to Bronzeville, head to the Union Stock Yard Gate, and take in the sacred site of the late Mayor Daley’s home, amongst other historic finery.
• The Southside Solidarity Network’s historian-led Woodlawn tour will begin in front of the University of Chicago’s new South Campus dorm at 1pm on Sunday, engaging with activists and residents in an attempt to familiarize students and others with the neighborhood.
• The Burnham Plan Centennial will be hosting a set of Community Showcase Tours, delving into such areas as Pilsen, South Chicago, the Quad Communities, and Auburn Gresham, with each tour leaving the Chicago Cultural Center at 9am on Saturday and lasting for three hours.
• The second-to-last of Paul Durica’s current series of Pocket Guide to Hell tours (“The Hidden History of the University of Chicago”) will occur Sunday at 2pm, beginning from the front entrance of the Reynold’s Club. This was supposed to be the last, but due to popular demand, Durica’s added another on October 18.

Hibernation hasn’t kicked in quite yet. So put your Lord of the Rings marathon off for a few more weekends and get out while the getting out’s good.